EU mergers and takeovers (Oct 23)

BRUSSELS Oct 23 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- French agricultural products producer Vivescia to acquire miller Atrixo (approved Oct. 23)

-- U.S. fund Brookfield Infrastructure to buy a stake in Spanish toll road operator Abertis as part of a joint deal to acquire a stake in OHL's highway assets in Brazil (approved Oct. 23)

-- Belgian insurer Ageas to acquire the British non-life insurance business of French peer Groupama (approved Oct. 23)

NEW LISTINGS

-- French rail company SNCF, and Austrian investment companies Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung and Augusta Holding to acquire joint control of Austria's Rail Holding which manages Austrian rail transport company WESTbahn Management GmbH(notified Oct. 19/deadline Nov. 27/simplified)

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

None

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

OCT 30

-- Investment firm Carlyle Group LP to buy Dupont's car paint business (notified Sept. 25/deadline Oct. 30/simplified)

-- Private equity firm Triton to purchase European Directories (notified Sept. 25/deadline Oct. 30/simplified)

-- Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to acquire a majority stake in the decorative surfaces unit owned by Illinois Tool Works Inc (notified Sept. 25/deadline Oct. 30/simplified)

OCT 31

-- German car parts supplier Continental AG to cooperate with South Korean SK Innovation in lithium-ion battery technology for electric cars (notified Sept. 26/deadline Oct. 31/simplified)

NOV 5

-- Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners to acquire British drinks maker Rexam's cosmetics, toiletries and household care business (notified Sept. 27/deadline Nov. 5)

NOV 6

-- British chip designer ARM, German technology company Giesecke & Devrient and French smart card maker Gemalto to set up a joint venture on mobile security (notified June 15/deadline Nov. 6/commitments submitted Oct. 12)

NOV 8

-- Commodities trader Glencore to acquire miner Xstrata (notified Oct. 2/deadline Nov. 8)

NOV 9

-- Hungarian oil and gas company MOL and JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production, which is majority-owned by Kazakh state oil and gas company JSC National Company KazMunaiGas to set up an oil and gas joint venture (notified Oct. 3/deadline Nov. 9/simplified)

NOV 12

-- General Electric and consulting and outsourcing group Accenture to acquire indirect joint control of a newly set up U.S. joint venture (notified Oct. 4/deadline Nov. 12/simplified)

-- Swiss insurer Helvetia Insurance to acquire French insurer Groupama's French shipping insurance portfolio (notified Oct. 4/deadline Nov. 12)

NOV 13

-- Swedish packaging companies Kinnevik and Billerud to merge (notified Oct. 5/deadline Nov. 13)

-- Japanese conglomerate Toyota Tsusho Corp to acquire distributor CFAO (notified Oct. 5/deadline Nov. 13/simplified)

NOV 14

-- Private equity firms First Reserve Management and SK Capital Partners to acquire indirect joint control of petrochemical product maker TPC (notified Oct. 8/deadline Nov. 14/simplified)

NOV 15

-- U.S. consumer products maker Procter & Gamble and Israeli drugmaker Teva to set up a joint venture (notified Oct. 9/deadline Nov. 15)

NOV 16

-- U.S. machinery maker Terex and Russian auto maker GAZ, which is controlled by Russian business conglomerate Basic Element Group, to set up a joint venture (notified Oct. 10/deadline Nov. 16/simplified)

-- Finnish group Outokumpu to acquire German group ThyssenKrupp's Inoxum stainless steel unit (notified April 10/deadline extended for the third time to Nov. 16 from Oct. 24 after Outokumpu offered commitments)

NOV 20

-- U.S. appliance maker Whirlpool to acquire more shares in German kitchen manufacturer Alno (notified Oct. 12/deadline Nov. 20)

NOV 22

-- Private equity firm Advent to acquire German consumer goods retailer Douglas Holding (notified Oct. 16/deadline Nov. 22/simplified)

-- Chinese refiner Sinopec Corp to set up a joint venture with Canadian oil and gas exploration company Talisman Energy Inc (notified Oct. 16/deadline Nov. 22/simplified)

NOV 23

-- U.S. industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp to acquire U.S. electrical equipment maker Cooper Industries Plc (notified Oct. 17/deadline Nov. 23)

DEC 21

-- Hong Kong's Hutchison 3G, which is part of Hutchison Whampoa, to acquire telecoms operator Orange Austria from France Telecom (notified May 7/deadline extended for the fourth time to Dec. 21 from Nov. 30 Hutchison 3G offers additional concessions)

JAN 15

-- U.S. mail delivery company United Parcel Service Inc to acquire Dutch peer TNT Express (notified June 15/deadline extended for the fourth time to Jan. 15 from Dec. 20 after the European Commission asked for more time)

FEB 6

-- Ryanair to acquire Aer Lingus (notified July 24/deadline extended for the second time to Feb. 6 from Jan. 14)

GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS

DEADLINES:

The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case.

Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.

SIMPLIFIED:

Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified -- that is, ordinary first-stage reviews -- until they are approved.